Habitat Work

[ZAG]

42 minutes ago, Stubborn1vt said:

A pic of the apple tree I discovered yesterday.  One of the red oak that I released.  A couple pics of the drainage where I want to install a water hole.  Last is a multi-trunk white pine that I plan to hang a stand in.

Only went out for a couple hours.  Focused on an area where basswood trees were competing with hickory and ash trees.  Cut 8-10 basswood of all sizes and used them to make a bit of a travel corridor.  It comes in 90 degrees to my log road, right in front of the white pine in the last picture.  Also whacked more buckthorn and chipped it.  I will spread the chips in the log road before spring when this section is wet.  Thinking of cutting all the buckthorn and honeysuckle in one section.  It's wet and the maple, ash and elm all have wet feet and the canopy is somewhat open.  Then I'd try to propagate red osier dogwood between the trees.  We'll see.

Checked 3 cameras.  Pretty quiet.  There were a few deer around a week ago.  With all the incoming rain I probably won't be able to get back out for a bit, unless the flash freeze is for real.   

Love multi trunk trees for stands. Looking good!

[Stubborn1vt]

Went to the woods for the first time since the storm.  Only 4-6" snow in the woods.  Ground is fairly frozen, but still a little soft in wet spots.  Had to cut a few little dead elms that had blown across the log road.  One big pine blew over, but not in an area where it's going to hurt anything.  

I was looking at old deer tracks as a I rode along and then came across some fresh buck tracks.  Went up the hill to where I had cut a soft maple and piled the brush and there was a 6 pointer and a 1 horned spike standing there.  I got a pic of the 6 point.  He even let me make a 3 point turn around and leave.  Went back down the hill a ways and cut a couple more soft maples.  

I finished thinning some of the hedgerow along the big plot.  I decided to leave some of the brush, as I occasionally set up on the ground in there.  I'm thinking I might be able to hang a stand in there.  It would only be 6-8' up, but if I stay that low, I should have plenty of cover during bow season.  I'm going to keep my eye on CL for a junky ladder stand that I can take the bottom section off.

My camera takes lousy pics, but this is the one I got.

[phade]

We are looking into screening options and solar electric fencing for plot rotation purposes.

Screening on the North side of one of our plots would be nice to get an access point and shield view from neighbors who have stands nearby. I watched multiple times 2 and 3 yr old bucks come into our plots and look for those hunters in their stands and isolate to the middle of the plot away from places we can shoot them. We can’t put a stand in the spot we want as a result too. 

We really want to try to establish a late season soybean plot but have had no luck keeping deer off them to the point of failure. Plot Saver fences didn’t work for crap and they ate a 1.5 acre planting to nothing in the summer. All the while there were 25 acres of beans less than 100 yards away. Goes to show what food along cover can do from a security and attraction perspective. Brassicas have done well for us late season but we have had to consistently put them in more than we should. One particular plot is on year four of them and that likely will bite us at some point. We’d like to use beans and cast in some brassica at the right time to reduce the chances we have issues.

[Stubborn1vt]

12 minutes ago, phade said:

We are looking into screening options and solar electric fencing for plot rotation purposes.

Screening on the North side of one of our plots would be nice to get an access point and shield view from neighbors who have stands nearby. I watched multiple times 2 and 3 yr old bucks come into our plots and look for those hunters in their stands and isolate to the middle of the plot away from places we can shoot them. We can’t put a stand in the spot we want as a result too. 

We really want to try to establish a late season soybean plot but have had no luck keeping deer off them to the point of failure. Plot Saver fences didn’t work for crap and they ate a 1.5 acre planting to nothing in the summer. All the while there were 25 acres of beans less than 100 yards away. Goes to show what food along cover can do from a security and attraction perspective. Brassicas have done well for us late season but we have had to consistently put them in more than we should. One particular plot is on year four of them and that likely will bite us at some point. We’d like to use beans and cast in some brassica at the right time to reduce the chances we have issues.

I'm just going to stick with field corn for screening.  For awhile, the raccoon population was way down and I didn't worry so much about the corn.  The last couple years the coons have destroyed it, so this year I will use a solar or just a DC fencer to keep them out.  We have bears to contend with too.  That's a new development.

I feel like I need to use some form of screening.  All the houses and the road are higher in elevation, so I think it helps the deer feel safe to have a barrier.  I don't have hunting competition from the neighbors.  Mostly they just walk with their dogs and kids at inopportune times.  

I like soybeans and did them once successfully.  I did a dual perimeter fence.  It wasn't electrified, but it let the beans get ahead of the deer.  I didn't shoot any deer, but did take a fall turkey.  I should do half an acre of beans, but I probably won't.  I'll probably rotate oats/rye instead so I don't have to build a fence.  I wish I had more acreage.

4 years of brassicas is alot.  I would worry about disease, and the fact that they take the same nutrients year after year.  Brassicas are my absolute favorite.  I'm rotating in some clover to give the soil a break.  It seems to draw pretty well until the cold weather hits.  

I've seen videos on broadcasting brassicas into mature beans.  I guess the trick is to use shorter day ag beans, so they drop their leaves in time to get a brassica or cereal grain crop going.  It sounds like the best of both worlds.  It's fun to mess around with it.  I'm limited by the fact I only have 6 acres total to work with, but I'm fortunate that the land on both sides has little activity on it.  

Sounds like the screening would really help.  Let us know if you do fenced beans.  

[ZAG]

45 minutes ago, phade said:

We are looking into screening options and solar electric fencing for plot rotation purposes.

Screening on the North side of one of our plots would be nice to get an access point and shield view from neighbors who have stands nearby. I watched multiple times 2 and 3 yr old bucks come into our plots and look for those hunters in their stands and isolate to the middle of the plot away from places we can shoot them. We can’t put a stand in the spot we want as a result too. 

We really want to try to establish a late season soybean plot but have had no luck keeping deer off them to the point of failure. Plot Saver fences didn’t work for crap and they ate a 1.5 acre planting to nothing in the summer. All the while there were 25 acres of beans less than 100 yards away. Goes to show what food along cover can do from a security and attraction perspective. Brassicas have done well for us late season but we have had to consistently put them in more than we should. One particular plot is on year four of them and that likely will bite us at some point. We’d like to use beans and cast in some brassica at the right time to reduce the chances we have issues.

I just saw this on insta this am, not sure if u have it but here’s a screenshot shot. Go to his page and read the description! I haven’t checked into it yet. 

[phade]

1 hour ago, Stubborn1vt said:

I'm just going to stick with field corn for screening.  For awhile, the raccoon population was way down and I didn't worry so much about the corn.  The last couple years the coons have destroyed it, so this year I will use a solar or just a DC fencer to keep them out.  We have bears to contend with too.  That's a new development.

I feel like I need to use some form of screening.  All the houses and the road are higher in elevation, so I think it helps the deer feel safe to have a barrier.  I don't have hunting competition from the neighbors.  Mostly they just walk with their dogs and kids at inopportune times.  

I like soybeans and did them once successfully.  I did a dual perimeter fence.  It wasn't electrified, but it let the beans get ahead of the deer.  I didn't shoot any deer, but did take a fall turkey.  I should do half an acre of beans, but I probably won't.  I'll probably rotate oats/rye instead so I don't have to build a fence.  I wish I had more acreage.

4 years of brassicas is alot.  I would worry about disease, and the fact that they take the same nutrients year after year.  Brassicas are my absolute favorite.  I'm rotating in some clover to give the soil a break.  It seems to draw pretty well until the cold weather hits.  

I've seen videos on broadcasting brassicas into mature beans.  I guess the trick is to use shorter day ag beans, so they drop their leaves in time to get a brassica or cereal grain crop going.  It sounds like the best of both worlds.  It's fun to mess around with it.  I'm limited by the fact I only have 6 acres total to work with, but I'm fortunate that the land on both sides has little activity on it.  

Sounds like the screening would really help.  Let us know if you do fenced beans.  

We did corn as a plot in 2021 in that same spot. Worst mid and late season we’ve ever had there. The stand was good and the corn was good. It just did not pull in the deer and the screening wasn’t high enough - like you neighbors are a bit higher thus the screening thought. About 50 yards away I had a small 1/3 to 1/2 acres of brassica and low and behold that’s where I found the shed to the buck I ultimately killed this season - ironically on a brassica plot just south of there. They love the brassicas.

Our soy bean attempt was laughable. We busted butt to get it in, got two tractors and truck stuck. Bulldozer got us out. Put up the fence with plot saver. I’ll never forget it. A week went by and we thought we nailed it with growth happening. The next morning I awoke to 8 bucks in a photo with our target 170” buck dead center frame in that plot eating away lol. Crushed my soul, ha. They had that plot gone in two weeks.

[phade]

50 minutes ago, ZAG said:

I just saw this on insta this am, not sure if u have it but here’s a screenshot shot. Go to his page and read the description! I haven’t checked into it yet. 

Higgins is a character. We definitely want to screen so we will be looking into wind and snow resistance. Some of those new buck on bag versions do well until snow and wind hit. Some sceeening works better in that environment but I guess it’s harder to get going. Giant myscanthus or however it’s spelled is also out there and controversial. There is a place here in NY I guess that specializes in it.

[Bucksnbows]

53 minutes ago, ZAG said:

I just saw this on insta this am, not sure if u have it but here’s a screenshot shot. Go to his page and read the description! I haven’t checked into it yet. 

That appears to be a non native. They can quickly get out of control. Better screens are natural plants like Indian bluestem, big bluestem, switchgrass, etc. They are native and do well in our soils and in all seasons. And deer evolved with them. 

[ZAG]

8 minutes ago, Bucksnbows said:

That appears to be a non native. They can quickly get out of control. Better screens are natural plants like Indian bluestem, big bluestem, switchgrass, etc. They are native and do well in our soils and in all seasons. And deer evolved with them. 

He says its not non native and doesn’t reseed itself and spread. I dont have screening needs, but it sounds interesting. Hold up with snow he said.

[ZAG]

13 minutes ago, Bucksnbows said:

That appears to be a non native. They can quickly get out of control. Better screens are natural plants like Indian bluestem, big bluestem, switchgrass, etc. They are native and do well in our soils and in all seasons. And deer evolved with them. 

That seed it super expensive isn’t it? Bluestem?

[ZAG]

18 minutes ago, phade said:

Higgins is a character. We definitely want to screen so we will be looking into wind and snow resistance. Some of those new buck on bag versions do well until snow and wind hit. Some sceeening works better in that environment but I guess it’s harder to get going. Giant myscanthus or however it’s spelled is also out there and controversial. There is a place here in NY I guess that specializes in it.

I have a guy around the corner, screens a crap ton along the road to try and block people from seeing into the fields. Not sure what it was but did decent up until the last month. Now it’s about worthless.

[Bucksnbows]

12 minutes ago, ZAG said:

That seed it super expensive isn’t it? Bluestem?

I use Ernst Seed out of PA for my native seed mixes and for my live stakes and fascines for river work. They sell bluestem. Most of what seed I buy from them are native mixes, but they sell single seed as well. 

[Bucndoe]

A good stand of switchgrass takes about 3 years to establish. Weed control in the beginning is crucial. I have a spot that came in good last year which was year 1. Spraying early before germination  helps significantly. It was worth the effort

I will be doing two other spots. One along road frontage to block a field bedding area, and one small spot because I don't want to see any neighbors.

I will frost seed in March. Chemical applications are Altrazine, Glyphosate, then 2,4-D and cut a few times as any weeds grow

Edited December 28, 2022 by Bucndoe